Sarasota schools have ‘good day’ as most schools reopen

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Sarasota County School officials say Monday’s reopening after Hurricane Ian was “pretty close to normal,” with good attendance and buses running, for the most part, on time.

“Today’s a good day,” said Superintendent Brennan Asplen. “We opened 35 schools today and it went really, really well.”

At a news conference Monday afternoon, the district said it plans to reopen the remaining eight public schools in the southern part of the county on Monday, Oct. 17. Those eight schools have about 2,500 high school students and about 10,000 middle and elementary students.

“We will be ready to go,” District COO Jody Dumas said. “We’re confident we’ll open every campus on the 17th,” even though repairs to many schools are still ongoing. “Not every campus will have every building open.” he said.

All high school sports teams were able to practice Friday, officials said. Riverview, Venice and North Port high schools all received damage to bleachers inside their stadiums. “Games at those school may have to be played at alternative locations,” Asplin said.

There will be personalized resources available for students who may have fallen behind, Chris Renouf, the district’s Chief Academic Officer said.

Asplen said the district has not made any decision about extending the school year. “We’re still talking through that,” he said. “We’re in conversations right now about how we’re going to do that.”